The assignee of the present invention manufactures and deploys spacecraft for, inter alia, communications and broadcast services.
Spacecraft structures, including particularly radio frequency (RF) antenna reflectors, are required to be compatible with launch loads, and must also comply, subsequent to launch, with challenging performance specifications in the face of substantial temperature variations and radiation exposure, typical of a space environment. Furthermore, such structures must be designed in view of stringent mass and cost objectives.
Laminated composite structures for such applications have been described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,686,930, and U.S. Pat Pub. 2004/0113863, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/161,343, assigned to the assignee of the present invention, and in U.S. Pat Pub. 2004/0009728. Alternative techniques include a “strong-back” approach where a shell fabricated as a sandwich or stiffened membrane is attached to a stiff backup structure using a number of blade type flexures to isolate the shell from the backup structure.
Improved design and fabrication techniques for RF antenna reflectors that achieve excellent RF performance, compatibility with launch environmental loads, and relatively low mass and cost are desired.